California Syrah

Demand for California Syrah is down so value is up. Way up!

For a brief moment Syrah was to be California's "next big thing". Pinot Noir, easier to understand and fruitier, grabbed the spotlight and refused to let go, leaving Syrah waiting in the wings.

While this has frustrated many producers, it's a boon for consumers! Syrah's complex character and adaptability have made them some of the best values around. With their assertive flavors, medium body, and ability to age and improve in the cellar it's about time Syrah gets your attention.

These are wines that easily reveal a wonderful sense of place and are versatile partners at the table. Find out more about Syrah here, or enjoy these wonderful selections from 2 great vintages.

2004 was a warm year yeilding ripe, balanced wines from Napa Valley. It's a classic vintage.

Burgess is a classic producer whose Syrah comes from their Howell Mountain estate. Using both French and American oak they add layers of complexity to their finished wine.

The Santa Ynez Valley offers a cooler climate revealing a more nuanced style of Syrah.

Zaca Mesa was a pioneering winery in Santa Barbara and continues to lead the way with their cool climate, estate grown wines and focus on Rhone varieties.

The 2006 growing season was cool and long allowing for ripe yet transparent wines from Santa Barbara.

Qupé pioneed working with Rhone varieties in Santa Barbara and helped to establish the region as a premier source for both white and red wines.

Paso Robles is quickly emerging as a great region for boldly styled wines.

Justin has long been at the forefront of Bordeaux styled wines from Paso Robles, and has lead the way introducing new varieties such as Syrah.

While a $20.00 wine is certainly not cheap, these wines are inexpensive for the drinking experience each offers. This is a group of distinctive wines that illustrates the range that Syrah has both stylistically and geographically in California. They are wines that must be tried to be appreciated and I fully expect the marketplace to realize just how great California Syrah can be so take advantage of these prices and get to know these wines today!

Syrah originally gained prominence in France's Rhone valley where famous hillsides produce the renowned wines of Hermitage, Cote Rotie and Cornas. Under the rather austere conditions that are prevalent on these slopes, hot, dry winds rake over the vines, which are rooted, in poor, granitic soil, the vines struggle for their very existence. The results can be incredibly elegant, if rich, wines that not only express the fruit of Syrah but also reveal it's deep, meaty and olive scented side as well as the raw elements of the ground from which the grapes come.

In California the growing conditions are rather different, in fact very different. Syrah is grown virtually all over the state and while it's a grape that loves the heat, it's also a grape that can manage very well without it. Some grapes, Cabernet springs to mind, really need to be quite mature to produce wines that are not excessively marred by green flavors and unripe tannins.

Syrah on the other hand tends to ripen perhaps more evenly so that even not perfectly ripe grapes have a balance that keeps the herbal character in check. This tendency combined with the ability to manage vines more precisely than ever has allowed for a fundamental shift in the styles of Syrah on offer from the varied vineyards of California.

In the past, the scene was dominated by big, burly wines full of jammy dark berry fruit and the smoky, peppery nuances Syrah is famous for. The wines lacked much definition yet were rich and mouth filling. By moving to the hillsides of warmer regions such as Napa Valley as well as cooler climes such as the breezy hills of Santa Barbara producers have been able to throttle back the sugar levels of their wines.

The results are wines that more closely resemble the great wines of the Rhone valley. While there is no way to remove the California-ness of these wines, and very little reason to, producers have been able to add certain elements that one encounters in the classics. Wines that once could only be considered to be fruit bombs now have notes of flowers and herbs balancing out the roasted meat and pepper tones of ripe Syrah. Where once there was softness at the heart of these wines, now ripe tannins and a touch of acid can be found. The results are some of the most open yet complex wines to come from California; wines that stay true to the grape, yet are able to express the terroir of their sites like few others.

It is both interesting and sad that while producers have finally begun to unravel the intricacies of success with Syrah in California, consumers seem to be shunning the grape. Retailers across the country have found Syrah to be a tough sell in general and the rather vague notions the consumers have about California Syrah make it easy to dismiss.

Fruity and accessible Pinot Noir has established itself as the alternative to burly Cabernet, yet few people realize how much Pinot is improved by more than a dollop of Syrah. In fact during the wine glut that has taken hold of the market recently Syrah is one of the few grapes to actually have become more expensive as the winemakers compete for the relatively limited supply, winemakers who want to amp up their Pinot that is.

Will no one come to the rescue of lowly Syrah? I will. It s among the best that California has to offer with a complexity and ageability that rivals that of King Cabernet yet is priced more like Zinfandel, another favorite of mine but that is another story. So why don't you shoot me an email with your favorite California Syrah, or maybe a Syrah story and let's see.